Manchester United’s head of player development and coaching, Justin Cochrane, has been lured away from Old Trafford to take up a first-team coaching position at Brentford.
Neil Wood, the club’s U23 head coach, left to take over at League Two side Salford City last month, and his former assistant, Neil Ryan, also left to take up a position with the FA.
Following Cochrane’s departure, United have now confirmed their new coaching staff. The club has announced that Mark Dempsey, who was appointed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020, will take charge of the U23s next season, while Travis Binnion, United’s U18 lead-coach, will take over Cochrane’s role.
Cochrane, who has previous first-team coaching experience from a brief stint with AFC Wimbledon, was appointed at United last year and made an immediate impact. During his brief stint at the club, the highly-rated 40-year-old led the Red Devils to FA Youth Cup glory for the first time since 2011.
Dempsey, who will now take over, graduated from the United academy in the 1980s and had previously managed senior teams in Scandinavia before being brought back to Old Trafford by Solskjaer. He will be assisted by another former academy graduate, Paul McShane, who is transitioning from a player-coach role with the U23s to a full-time coach role.
Regarding the remodeling of the back room, Nick Cox, head of the United Academy, said: “We are really pleased to confirm the new coaching structure for the professional development phase. The increase in flexibility reflects our bespoke approach to player development, focusing on supporting individuals to reach their potential by working with each specialist coach at the optimal time.
“Travis, Mark and Paul all played a pivotal role in the academy’s success last season, in which four graduates made their debuts and the Under-18s won the Youth Cup. They possess an outstanding set of complementary skills that will best support this group of players.
“Naturally, we are pleased that Justin has been able to fulfil his ambition of working in a first-team environment. I am proud of the world-class learning environment that we have created for our staff and take great satisfaction in seeing them progress either within the club or through external opportunities.
“The changes implement an ideal blend of long-standing club personnel and outstanding external appointments as we continue to appoint best-in-class staff throughout our world-leading youth development system.”
